Lessons From Successful Podcast Episodes

I asked the world's leading podcaster, Steven Bartlett for advice on growing my podcast. The answer was supposed to be three minutes long. But, he gave me a whole lecture with such great game that I can't gatekeep it. I have been digesting what he said and here are the lessons you can learn when it comes to innovating and developing your content strategy. I call it the 'Bartlett Big Three' 1) Swing for a Fundamental Innovation. When he launched The Diary Of A CEO six years ago, the founder/CEO podcast format remained unexplored territory. He recognised this arbitrage opportunity and seized it. Today, he sets the standard. Countless shows mirror his format, style, and thumbnails. The window has closed, he told me. The next imitation of a DOAC podcast will fail miserably. Breaking through now demands innovation in concept, content or format. He offered a provocative example: "I wouldn't watch another interview show but I would totally watch a podcast series about why someone is cheating secretly on their spouse." Imitation guarantees obscurity. Audiences will still seek the original. It's better to swing hard for something novel altogether. 2) Experiment Relentlessly But here's what separates him from most people who build an audience: he never stopped experimenting. He hired Grace Miller to help the DOAC team run fast experiments, fearlessly and often. They tested hypotheses to improve retention, engagement and click through rates. Compare his podcast today to 2021—the trailers, b-rolls, even ad-reads have been transformed dramatically. Each upgrade stems from an experiment. Most creators with his audience would coast. Steven remains relentless about treating the podcast as a product to improve. Then he said something that forced me to pause: "I am not romantic about being right, I am romantic about winning." Do you want to win or be right? The point of experimenting, I've realised, is to lock you into that focus—improving the product becomes the work itself. 3) Sweat The Small Stuff. I asked him about the Jimmy Fallon interview—the moment when Jimmy pulled out a custom scrapbook of photos and quotes, prepared live during filming. Why? "I sweat the small stuff," he said "A lot of greatness is unlocked this way." The scrapbook isn't just a generous gesture. It's representative of how he thinks about every element of the podcast. But here's the thing: the scrapbook is one of hundreds of small details he's obsessed over. Better lighting. Tighter editing. More thoughtful questions. Smoother ad transitions. Each improvement seems minor in isolation but they compound. The podcast you see today isn't the result of one breakthrough idea. It's the accumulation of relentless, incremental improvements across every dimension of the experience. Whilst competitors copy the surface-level format, they miss the infrastructure of obsession underneath. They would never go to such lengths. That's his edge.

First month down as an independent podcaster. A quick recap of what I’ve learned + game plan to make this huge: 1. Downloads are at 70% of where they were before my 8-month hiatus. Honestly higher than I expected. Shows the value of owning the feed & the intimacy of a podcast relationship. 2. Talking to my audience is a great way to stay motivated when numbers are still relatively small. I ask my listeners to email me at the top of every episode. Hearing how much Founder’s Journal helps them with their business gives me more than enough fire to do this for a long time. 3. Working with sponsors (like Gusto) that you actually believe in & are a customer of, makes the advertising business actually fun. I don’t feel slimy & I want to go out of my way to overdeliver for them. 4. Filled closets are exceptional studios if you don’t have a professional one. I recorded today’s episode in my mom’s closet with a Shure MV7, and you’d never know I had such a janky set up. 5. Evergreen shows have a crazy long tail. 38% of my monthly downloads came from episodes not recorded this month. This means 2 things: making episodes easily discoverable is crucial since people treat the show as service content & selling the back catalog is as important as selling new episodes. 6. Like any business, the market you pick for a podcast is everything. Because my show is for startup founders, there will always be more advertiser demand than quality supply. That means I can monetize this show at high CPMs without needing to dilute the content in search of a massive audience. 7. Have a YouTube native version of your podcast. Given how bad discoverability in podcasts is, creating top of funnel on the largest search engine in the world is (almost) always the right move. I plan to bring Founder’s Journal to YT in the coming weeks. 8. Niche is generally better in media & podcasts are no exception. Be niche in topic (How I Write by David Perell) or niche in format (Founders by David Senra) My niche is short-form (<20 min) solo records by founders. 9. A podcast is a living breathing organism. Every media franchise has an arc of relevancy and the only way to stay relevant for a long time (>3 years) is to keep evolving the show based on what your audience wants. It’s why having 2-way conversation with your community is so important. 10. I plan to get my pod to 5x per week. Why? More surface area for discovery & word of mouth. More opportunity to create daily habit. More founder voices to highlight beyond my own. One thought is creating a “Residency,” where I get 3-4 other founders (in different industries/stages) to host one episode per week for a quarter. 11. Far more valuable then the advertising business is the lead gen that the pod creates for all of my portfolio companies, where the LTV of a customer is in the tens of thousands. This is generally true for B2B pods. Reply below if you have any questions about podcast strategy I can answer.

It’s not often you get unfiltered access to a founder who has built a $200M+ ARR business and raised over $400M. This episode is a one-hour masterclass in scaling, hiring, and leading, filled with battle-tested lessons from someone who is still in the seat and doing the work. My guest for this week’s episode of Not Another CEO Podcast is Todd Olson, founder and CEO of Pendo.io. He started the company 11 years ago, and in that time has turned it into the definitive platform for product analytics, user engagement, and in-app guidance. Pendo powers thousands of businesses and has become a category leader in one of the most competitive areas of enterprise software. Here are six takeaways that stood out: 1. Obsess over your customers Todd didn’t just preach customer obsession, he lived it. In the early days, he answered support tickets himself and insisted on jumping into live calls to fix problems fast. That approach set the standard. Eleven years later, he still personally follows up on negative NPS scores. 2. If you wouldn’t put them in front of a customer, don’t hire them That rule applied to every hire in the early days, including engineers. Todd built this into the interview process by asking candidates to walk through key wins or losses and name exactly who they worked with on the customer side. If they couldn’t, it showed they weren’t truly accountable for the outcome. 3. Interviewing 800 people was a strategy, not a burden Todd personally interviewed the first 800 hires. It helped him coach managers, maintain a high bar, and sell the mission. He also ran 90-day check-ins with every new hire to keep learning and iterating on the culture. 4. Operating cadence creates clarity and momentum Pendo runs on a disciplined rhythm. Annual themes. Quarterly goals. Weekly leadership meetings. Bi-weekly town halls. A spring offsite dedicated to planning three years ahead. Every meeting reinforces what matters. 5. When the goalposts move, stay in the game The IPO didn’t happen when expected because of the macro market dynamics. Expectations changed. Todd had to reframe the mission. The focus became building a durable business and outperforming the category. Staying in the game is the strategy. 6. Don’t forget to enjoy the journey Todd says this is still hard. There’s always a next milestone. But celebrating progress and appreciating the path is just as important as chasing what’s next. Most people don’t do it enough. This is one of the most tactical and transparent episodes we’ve done. Todd shares the kind of detail you usually only get behind closed doors. Hope you enjoy.

I have been to many podcasts, but this one goes into topics I usually don’t talk about publicly. One thing I spoke about early on was a piece of advice Michael Seibel gave me during YC that completely changed how we built Mailmodo: “Focus on one thing. And think about what email will look like 10 years from now, not next quarter.” Those two ideas shaped everything: why we stayed deep in email when everyone told us to expand into new channels and why we kept building for the long-term future of marketers, not the short-term market noise. We went deep into the parts of the founder journey that are super important: * Why hiring slow saves you years later * How problem-solving beats experience in the early team * The moment we tested a scrappy prototype and proved real customer value * Why PMF isn’t a milestone, it’s a moving target * How to understand your audience better than your competitors do * Why every founder should publish a newsletter * And how your pitch gets sharper every single time you tell your story If you’re a founder trying to grow with intention, stay focused, and build something real, this episode will feel familiar. Watch the full episode ( link in comments). I hope you learn something new and genuinely find it useful. Thank you Colton Kaplan for having me.

A Journey of Growth, One Conversation at a Time - 🎙️ Ever had a moment when you look back and realize how much you’ve grown—not just professionally, but personally? Hosting the 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 has been one of those experiences for me. Every episode has been a deep dive into the minds of leaders who’ve navigated their own shifts. And honestly, after each conversation, I walked away with more than just insights—I gained a new perspective on what it means to truly embrace change. Reflecting on this journey, I’m reminded that growth doesn’t come from staying in our comfort zones. It comes from stepping into the unknown, learning continuously, and connecting with others who can guide us along the way. These aren’t just themes I’ve observed—they’re lessons I’ve felt deeply after every episode. Here are the 𝐭𝐨𝐩 3 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 that have really stood out: 1. 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞: Change is inevitable, and how we respond is key. Our guests highlighted the importance of embracing change with courage, whether it’s planned or unexpected. 💪🌟 𝐓𝐢𝐩: Ask yourself, "What’s the worst that could happen?" Often, the potential rewards are worth the risk. 🚀 2. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: In a constantly evolving world, staying still isn’t an option. Our guests emphasized the need to keep learning and stay curious. 📚🌍 𝐓𝐢𝐩: Dedicate time each week to learn something new, no matter how small. It keeps you growing and relevant. 🔄 3. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: Mentorship is about building connections that guide your career. It’s been a pivotal element for many of our guests, both as mentors and mentees. 🤝✨ 𝐓𝐢𝐩: Seek out a mentor for guidance, and if you can, offer mentorship to others. It’s mutually beneficial. 🌱 I’ve taken these powerful themes and distilled them —𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 3 Tips from each episode. It’s a quick, actionable guide to help you apply these lessons to your own career journey. Whether you’re considering a career shift, looking for inspiration, or just curious about how others navigate change, this carousel has something for you. Stay Connected—The Journey Has Just Begun! If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, there's a lot more to come: New Guests, New Stories, and more. Stay Tuned! And don’t forget to subscribe to the 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫—it’s where I share deeper insights, exclusive content, and updates on what’s coming next. We’re all on this journey together, learning, growing, and adapting. Thank you, Prabir Jha, Phani Pattamatta, Raja Krishnamoorthy, Nathan SV, Harjeet Khanduja, Shyam Sadasivan, Neeraja Ganesh, Deepshikha Kumar, Tarun Nallu, Abhijit Bhaduri, Jon Younger PhD, Vikas Dua, Sangeeta Shankaran Sumesh, and Moritz Kaffsack for joining me on Career Shifts. Also, a big thanks to all of you; you helped me make this show a great success! #CareerShifts #Leadership #CareerGrowth #Mentorship #Podcast

A client preparing for an important podcast confessed he's a bit "wordy." I complimented him for recognizing what could be a fatal flaw and said, "That's why you're going to keep your remarks to 2 minutes and answer every question with an EXAMPLE instead of an EXPLANATION. Explanations are INFObesity. Examples are INTRIGUING." He agreed but said, "I don't know HOW to tell a short story." I told him, "The key is to put us in the S.C.E.N.E. Here's how: S = SENSORY DETAIL: Start with WHERE to put us THERE. Think of a real-life situation that illustrates your point. What did it look like? Smell like? Feel like? Sound like? C = CHARACTERS: Describe the individual(s) involved so we know their MOOD. We don't need to know they have brown hair. The question is, are they sad, mad? Excited? Frustrated? E = EXPERIENCE IT: Re-enact what happened so we can SEE what you're SAYING. If YOU see and feel what you saw and felt then, WE will too. N =NARRATIVE: If you don't have dialogue, it’s not a story, it's a listicle of events. Use comma/quotes of exactly what was said so it's ALIVE and we feel part of the conversation. E = EPIPHANY: What is the lesson-learned, shift, or AHA where everything comes together and the point suddenly makes sense? If the podcaster asks, "WHY did you write this book?" don't TELL him why you wrote the book. Put us in the S.C.E.N.E. of when and where you realized people were getting outdated badvice, and decided to share your recent research and evolutionary results so they could thrive instead of suffer needlessly. And keep each response to under 2 minutes. If you do, this becomes a rock-and-roll interview from start to finish. You will be infinitely more interesting and people will be motivated to keep listening. #podcasts #storytelling #speaking #samhorn #presenting

Miriam Allred's Home Care Strategy Lab podcast is a masterclass in execution and delivering insights on building sustainable care models. Six months in, and every conversation reveals another layer of what's possible when we center our teams and put patients first. Seven learnings that keep reinforcing how we think about healthcare and growing proven care models at Recombinate Health: 1. Care teams know the solutions - They're already inventing workarounds and innovations daily. Our job is to amplify their brilliance, not impose new systems from above. 2. Entry-level isn't dead-end - The most successful home care models create clear pathways from aide to RN. When people see a future, retention follows. 3. Technology amplifies humanity - The best tech doesn't replace caregivers. It gives them superpowers to do what they do best: care. 4. Small experiments beat grand plans - Every breakthrough I've witnessed started with "What if we just tried..." not a 50-page strategy deck. 5. Culture eats compliance for breakfast - You can't regulate your way to great care. But when teams feel valued and heard, excellence becomes their default. 6. The workforce crisis is solvable - Not through recruiting alone, but by making these jobs worth staying for. Better wages, yes. But also voice, growth, and genuine respect. 7. Cross-industry insights transform care - Some of our best innovations came from studying Formula 1 pit crews, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., and lean manufacturing. Healthcare doesn't have a monopoly on operational excellence and we have so much to learn (and apply)! Miriam, thank you for creating a space where these conversations happen. Where leaders share what's actually working, not just what sounds good in theory. The best part? You're just getting started. For those of us in the audience: What insights from the podcast have changed how you approach care delivery?

How does a podcast with no audience become a platform that compounds into reputation, access, and trust? When I launched Business with Bartawi, it wasn’t glamorous. The first episodes felt like shouting into the void. Most invitations were ignored. A few said yes. Fast forward: I’ve now sat across leaders who shape industries, trade billions, and employ thousands of people. Here are 3 lessons I’ve learnt from building this platform: 1/ Conversation is leverage. An early guest ,someone who barely knew me, later introduced me to an investor who opened doors I had been knocking on for years. That’s when I realised: a podcast isn’t just content, it’s currency. Every recorded conversation is a long-term asset. 2/ Depth beats noise. At first, I obsessed over views. Some clips went viral, most didn’t. But then I’d get a quiet DM from a CEO saying, “That one question changed how I look at my business.” That’s when I understood: attention fades. Trust compounds. A good podcast is infrastructure for trust. 3/ Build for compounding. By episode 10, I doubted myself. By episode 20, I almost quit. By episode 30, something shifted: leaders I once thought were unreachable started messaging me first. Reputation compounds silently, then all at once. The podcast is no longer a side project. It’s a lens on leadership, a test bed for ideas, and the foundation for the bigger ecosystem I’m building. If there’s one lesson I’d leave you with, it’s this: the smallest conversations you record today might become the most valuable assets of your future.

Podcasting is brutal. Most shows never get off the ground. Last week, Ben and I hit episode 35 and approached 10k downloads. Here are 7 counterintuitive lessons I wish I knew when starting out: 1/ Be okay with the worst-case scenario Podcast growth is notoriously difficult, so being excited about the worst-case scenario removes the pressure and makes the process enjoyable. Even if nobody listens, we still get to: ↳ Have deep conversations about topics we're passionate about ↳ Improve our public speaking and conversation skills ↳ Learn something new from every single guest ↳ Build deeper relationships with interesting people 2/ Choose your metrics carefully They shape every decision you make. As Charlie Munger said, "Show me the incentives, and I'll show you the outcomes." We only track two things: ↳ Are we having fun? ↳ Are we being consistent? That's it. No download targets. No subscriber goals. No pressure to hit arbitrary numbers. By focusing on enjoyment and consistency, we've built something sustainable that keeps getting better. 3/ Less is more We started trying to cover everything in each episode. Big mistake. The result? - Superficial questions - Rushed conversations - Constant pressure to "move on" - Missing the best insights Now we pick ONE topic to go deep on and let the conversation flow naturally. The magic happens in the unexpected tangents and follow-up questions. You can't plan those. 4/ Find your unique style Don't copy other shows. In the beginning, we tried to sound like a "proper" interview podcast. The result? Stiff, awkward conversations that felt like job interviews. We realized we wanted to create the feeling of friends chatting over coffee. No high-stakes interviews. No rigid structures. Just authentic conversations where everyone (including us) can be themselves. 5/ Create for yourself first Our best episodes? Not the ones we thought would perform well. They're the ones where WE learned the most. When we finished recording thinking "Wow, that was fascinating!" Trust your taste. The audience will follow. 6/ Double down on what you enjoy Want consistency? Focus on the parts you love. Delegate everything else. We love having the conversations and curating the guest, so we delegated everything else. This creates a virtuous cycle: Energy → Consistency → Growth → More Energy 7/ Find a great co-creator Having Ben Erez as a co-host made all the difference: ↳ Built-in accountability when life gets busy ↳ Someone to learn from and bounce ideas off ↳ More energy and fun in every episode ↳ Shared excitement about growth ↳ Different perspectives that make conversations richer ↳ Someone to celebrate the wins with What did you learn from your creative projects this year?

We analyzed the data of the 100+ podcast episodes we produced in 2024. This 1 simple action gave a HUGE lift to unique reach. (But most marketers skip it.)   Most B2B podcasts miss a big opportunity to maximize GUEST REPOSTS. This year we produced over 100 podcast episodes for our clients. These episodes powered a stream of nearly 1,000 written posts, video clips, and guest reposts that went out across Linkedin. We track engagement on every post (including reposts) to measure total impact. Here’s what we found: → GUEST REPOSTS increased total engagement by 25% on avg → GUEST REPOSTS increased unique engagers by 60% on avg Reposts accounted for a big bump in total exposure, and an even bigger bump in UNIQUE exposure (net new audience). The results were even more dramatic for the outliers. For one client, reposts drove UP TO 80% of their net new engagers. (i.e. they nearly doubled their audience.) The problem is… Getting people to repost is like pulling teeth. Here are the 5 things we do to make reposting feel effortless for guests: 1. Ask what matters to them During the podcast prep call, ask questions that will help you produce content that the guest will want to repost. Ex: → “What’s the most important for your marketing and messaging right now?” → “Are there key messages you’d like us to weave into our conversation?” 2. Set expectations early During the same call, get guest buy-in to ensure reposting is on their radar. Ex: → “We’d love it if you could repost the content. Would you be up for that?” 3. Remind them of next steps When wrapping up the podcast recording, clarify what’s next. We’ll usually say… → “We’ll edit and send the episode for your review in a few weeks.” → “Then we’ll cut some clips and send a few to you.” → “We’ll let you know over email when they’re posted so you can repost.” 4. Make them look good As you create clips for your content, focus on showcasing the guest in the best light. Then cut clips for the guest tailored on their priorities from their answers to #1. You could opt for clips with or without your branding. But some guests, especially bigger names, will prefer the unbranded versions. 5. Make reposting effortless Send your guest an email with the edited clips and ask them to repost. Bonus points if you can write a caption or post for them so it's an easy copy/paste. Most guests will gladly repost what you give them because it’ll be quality content they didn’t have to create themselves. TAKEAWAY Distribution is 90% of the game. If you have a podcast and you’re not tapping into your guests’ audiences, you’re likely missing out on a goldmine. But getting guests to repost is not easy or automatic. Your team needs to put very conscious effort into making sure it happens. 👋 I’m on a mission to master LinkedIn strategy for B2B execs. I publish my findings weekly. Follow + learn with me in public.